MUSIC AS A SOCIAL PHENOMENON FROM AFRICAN SOCIOLOGY

Abstract

This paper analyzes music as a social phenomenon from the perspective of African sociology, integrating its role in identity construction, cultural resistance, and processes of social transformation. Based on the study of contributions from authors such as Blacking, Ballantine, Fanon, Anku, Agawu, Kubik, Euba, and Collins, it examines how music reflects social structures, reproduces historical tensions, and contributes to expressing political and cultural struggles. To do so, it applies a qualitative methodology of a documentary and analytical nature focused on  musical consumption, cultural participation, and social perceptions, with the aim of identifying patterns and trends that reveal the relationship between music, identity, and social inequality. The results make it possible to understand that music is not only an artistic element but also a fundamental social instrument that influences cohesion, sense of belonging, and dynamics of resistance in contexts of inequality and postcolonialism. The study demonstrates that music is a vehicle of symbolic and social transformation that connects tradition, globalization, and collective memory.